Scientists warn that the asteroid Apophis weighing around 40 million tons will likely hit Earth at 7.43 km / s in 2068.
Named after the evil god who ruled darkness and chaos in ancient Egypt, Apophis 99942 is expected to approach Earth from a distance of 37,600 km, or one tenth the distance from the planet. We will reach the Moon in 2029.
Researchers from the Department of Celestial Mechanics at the University of St. Petersburg have warned that the 370m diameter asteroid above will strike Earth at some point in 2068.
“The reconciliation of Apophis 99942 causes significant orbital scattering. Reports indicate that the corresponding resonant response suggests that Apophis could collide with Earth by 2068,” the report said. Scientists from the University of St. Petersburg said.
Scientists at Tomsk National University in Siberia are looking for a way to circumvent this potential threat by using nuclear weapons derived from supercomputing calculations.
A warning regarding a collision between Apophis 99942 and Earth has been given several times in the past. In November 2017, NASA scientist Steve Chesley predicted a possible collision on April 13, 2036. At that time, 99942 Apophis, the size of a small mountain, would attack Earth, causing the strongest earthquake in the history of mankind.
Discovered in December 2004, Apophis weighing about 40 million tons quickly aroused the interest of astronomers in the possibility of hitting the Earth. Scientists have warned that if the possibility of a collision occurs, Apophis could create a crater 518m deep, 2000m wide.
The impact of the collision would be equivalent to 880 million tonnes of TNT or 65,000 US atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.
